


Where You'd End Up

by GingerItt



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-09-27
Updated: 2012-09-26
Packaged: 2017-11-15 03:27:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/522638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerItt/pseuds/GingerItt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the war ends, Gendry ends up working in a repair shop in what is left of Winterfell.  Arya is still considered missing despite her siblings' efforts to find her.  Then one day a girl with grey eyes walks past Gendry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Gendry pulled his pack on over his thick wool coat as he headed out of the shop.

“Tomorrow, Mikey?” he called to the back and he heard the old man grunt in response from behind the worn curtain separating the storefront from the workshop. 

The door slammed behind him and the icy wind stung his face. The wind was always cold coming off the sea but the winter added a bite to it. A quick glance up the street told him that the bus was a long way off so he stood in the shelter of the shop to escape both the crowd waiting for it and the sharp air. He fumbled with his pockets, searching for his ipod and cigarettes. He found the former and put one of the ear buds in before selecting a playlist. 

As the music filled his mind, he plucked a cigarette from the nearly empty pack. Gendry held it between his lips as he struggled with the damned matchbook, silently cursing himself for losing his lighter the day before. He finally got the match lit and was starting to raise it up when the wind blew it out.

Suddenly a girl with short hair and stormy grey eyes walks by and he can’t help but look… Arya, Arya Stark. 

The burnt out match slipped between his fingers to the ground. Her slim form stopped a few steps away from him and she slowly turned to meet his gaze.

“Hey,” he stammers out.

Arya looked him up and down in that way she used to, simultaneously making him feel inadequate and like a piece of meat.

“You’re here,” she stated.

“So are you.”

“This is Winterfell. I was always going to come back.” She tugged at her thick woolen hat. “It just took me awhile to figure out how.”

They stared at each other for a moment. She was taller, her hair was still short but purposely. He was healthier looking, still lean, but even through the heavy coat it was clear that he finally had enough to eat.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. The girl was still a walking conundrum for Gendry. Her question somehow sounded of hope and disdain.

He stuttered over his words as he answered, “I knew this is where you’d end up.”


	2. Chapter 2

Gendry was bent over a broken air conditioner when he heard the bell over the front door of the shop ring. He glanced up at Mike, the shop’s owner, who was engrossed in prying a huge wad of gum out of the tube of a vacuum cleaner. He sighed, put down his screwdriver, and pushed his way through the curtain to deal with whatever wrecked appliance was going to be handed to him.

But the person standing on the other side of the counter held nothing in her hands but mittens and a thermos. Arya’s cool eyes smiled at him though her lips did not.  
“I’m working, Arya,” he sighed. “And you should be with family.”

“I know.” She put the thermos down and hopped on top of the counter. She began removing her layers of clothing. “I was bored. Sansa is trying to get me to bond with her over our… how did she say it? Oh yeah, ‘years of strife’.” She dropped her coat to the floor and spun to face him and unscrewed the top of the thermos. “Tea?” she offered.

“No, thanks, I have some in the back.” It was clear she wasn’t going to just leave.

“Try it. This is some of Septa Mordane’s personal brew.” She held it out to him. He took it begrudgingly, took at big swig and immediately spit it out.

He gasped for air, “Gods, Arya! That’s like pure liquor! How can you stand it?”

She giggled and her laughter almost made it all worth it. “You get used to it. I’ve been sneaking sips of it since I was little.”

He wiped his mouth, glaring at her. “Well, now I know why you can hold your ale so well. What’s in it?”

“It’s the normal tea my mother used to drink but brewed in clear ale.” She pulled her legs up so she was sitting cross-legged. “Can I watch you work?”

“You can’t come behind the curtain. Mikey barely tolerates me back there.”

Disappointment clouded her face. “Oh, nevermind then.” She started to turn around.

“Wait, I’ll bring out something small to work on. The company would be nice.” She grinned at him as he goes behind the curtain to grab a pocket watch he’s been struggling to fix.

“That the Stark girl?” Mike gruffly asked without looking up. Gendry searched the shelf above his workstation for his minute tools for delicate items.

“Yeah, I can send her away if you want.” He retrieved the small case and the watch.  
“Nah, it’s fine. Just don’t ignore real customers.”

Gendry went back out to the storefront. He climbed on top of the counter and faced Arya. He opened the case, pulled out the loupe first and tightened the strap around his forehead. He set the tool case in front of Arya and took the watch from its velvet bag. He selected a pair of tiny pliers and a screwdriver from the case before lowering the loupe to his eye.

“So…” he began, “where have you been these past five years?” He couldn’t look up at her but he could see her fidgeting. “Stop that, it’s distracting. Where were you?”

“I was an assassin.”

He snorted at that. There was no doubt in his mind that she was telling the truth. Arya was the most determined, ruthless person he’d ever met.

“How many?” He removed the final tiny screw from the back of the watch. As always, the gears were beautiful, the springs were intact, the winding mechanism was perfect. But still, he could not get the watch to work. “Arya, how many?”

“Seventy-four.” There was a hint of scorn in her voice.

“That’s not bad for five years.”

“No, that was just my first year.” He stopped for a moment and she continued. “I should have had seventy-five my first year. But I got the final one my next.”

“How many all together?”

“Three hundred and ninety-four.”

He pulled the loupe up to look at her. “Three hundred and ninety-four?”

She shrugged, as if it were nothing. “I was good at what I did. I could get in and out of places quickly without being noticed. And most people don’t expect a teenaged girl to be wielding deadly weapons.”

“That is true.” He couldn’t help but sound unsure. He started to pull the eyepiece back down but she stopped him.

“You’re judging me.” Her eyes stared at him sharply..

“Arya, what do you expect me to say? ‘Great job killing almost four hundred people, pass the biscuits’?”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Did you fight in the war, Gendry?”

“Yes, for the last four years of it.”

“What did you do?” She took a swig of tea from her thermos.

He really couldn’t tell where she was going with this. “I was a tank gunner.”

“Can you honestly tell me that there is no blood on your hands?”

He paused, weighing the watch in the palm of his hand. “No.”

“Do you know how many people you’ve killed?”

He was silent, staring back at her, seeing her point. “No.”

“All the people I killed were people that had it coming in some way. No collateral damage, no guards or families were killed to cover my tracks.” Her eyes blazed with anger. “You judge me for taking out three hundred and ninety-four slave traders, rapists, thieves and usurpers, people everyone would agree the world is better off without? Well, I judge you for not even knowing who you killed. For probably killing people accidentally. For killing innocents.”

Arya sprung off the counter, picking up her coat and pulling it on.

“Arya, don’t leave.” But she was out the door before he could even try to go after her. He squeezed the watch in his hand tightly and felt a slight pinch. He raised the watch up to his face to look at it. It was ticking.


	3. Chapter 3

Gendry contacted the owner of the watch after Arya had stormed out of the shop. Its owner was an elderly man who had purchased it at the market on a whim. He was happy to sell it to Gendry for what he paid for it with the only caveat that he not sell it to anyone else.

“Oh, no, sir. It is a gift.” He could practically hear the old man smirk through the telephone. Apparently, everyone knew that the youngest Lady Stark and tinker’s apprentice had traveled together but they also assumed they had been more than travel companions.

As usual, Gendry at his supper at the pub below his apartment. He sat in his usual spot at the bar, picking at his fish and chips, when he heard a group of men laugh when Arya’s picture came up on the evening news. They weren’t reporting the incident at the shop, thank the Gods, but were confirming that Arya Stark had indeed returned to Winterfell and was to assume to position of captain of Lord Jon Snow’s guard. 

One of the men, a plump red-faced man with a blond beard, plopped himself beside Gendry, taking a big gulp of beer and wiping his mouth with his sleeve. Gendry sneered in disgust. He may have been a bastard and smith (now tinker) but his master had taught him manners.

“Pity that one’s not as pretty as her sister.” The man let out a wolf whistle as a photo of Sansa popped up on the screen. “Aye, that’s a girl that’s lucky to be a lady.”

Gendry dropped the chip in his hand onto the plate and wiped his hands with his napkin.

“And why is that?” His jaw was firmly set, teeth grinding.

The man look are him wide eyed. “Are you daft, boy? The older girl has been something to look at since she was a child. Always so pretty, with her mother’s red hair and lovely skin. Her sister has never looked like a girl, particularly with that damned haircut.” He leaned closer to Gendry, his breath stinking of beer and tobacco. “There are men in his city that have wanted that Sansa girl since she was nine. If she hadn’t been Lord Ned’s daughter, they’d’ve had her by the time she was twe—”

Gendry gripped his plate and smashed it into the ogre’s face. The man staggered back, blood gushing from his jaw. He rushed back towards Gendry but this time his face was met by a mug. “Her name is Lady Sansa Stark. And her sister is Lady Arya Stark. Their father was Lord Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Hand of the King. And you will do well to remember it.” He pulled the man to him by his collar and shoved him against the bar. “If I hear you disrespect any of the Stark’s again, I will go to Lord Snow myself.”

He stormed out the door and sprinted up to his room. Later that night, the barkeep knocked on his door and told him not to come back for a few days. Gendry just nodded and flopped on to his small cot to stare at the ceiling. At some point he turned on the old TV set he had purchased from the shop for background noise. He tossed the pocket watch between his hands absentmindedly until a sharp knock rapped on his door. He checked the peephole, a bit wary that it might be the Ogre and his friends.

Arya.

He opened the door and pulled her inside before anyone saw her.

“Have you gone insane? What are you doing here? If someone had seen you—”

“Shut up, Bull.” She pulled her coat off and dropped it on a small chair near his only window. Her boots joined her coat and she sat on his cot.

“Well, please make yourself at home.” He stored the watch in his pocket and went to the tiny kitchenette in the corner and put the kettle on the stove. “What do you want?”

“Peppermint, if you have it.” He shot her a dirty look but she just smirked at him.

“Funny. What are you doing here?” He leaned against the counter to face her.

“I came to apologize.” She crossed to him. “I don’t know how I thought you’d react but—”

Gendry put his finger against her lips to silence her. “Why are you apologizing? I shouldn’t have reacted how I did.” He pulled her into a hug, his fingers threading through her short brown hair. She was taller than he remembered but her slight body still felt familiar.

Arya relaxed into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. They both would have been content to stay like that but the kettle whistled and Gendry broke away from her. He poured the boiling water into mugs and plopped a tea bag into each. He handed her a mug and sat on the bed again. She sat beside him, holding the bug with both hands and stared at the television.

“Can I stay here tonight?”

“Won’t you brothers and sister worry?”

Shrugged and set the mug on the floor. “I can’t sleep in the Keep. It doesn’t feel like home without my mother and father.”

He nodded. He had never known his father and his mother died when he was just a boy but he understood. “Of course.”

They talked for a while longer until Arya began yawning after each sentence. Gendry gave her a pair of his sleep pants and an undershirt to wear before going into the bathroom to give her some privacy. 

He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. He could do this. He had done this hundreds of times. Sleeping beside her was normal for almost a year and half so why should tonight be different?

‘Because she’s not a little girl anymore,’ a voice in his head whispered. He did his best to push those thoughts away as he cracked the door open. Arya was standing in the middle of the room, already changed but rolling the cuffs of the pants up.

“It’s all yours.” He held the door open for her and she shut it behind her. He stripped off his jeans and shirt, tossing them into a pile of dirty clothes in the corner and pulling on a pair of sweats. Arya came back in and stared at his chest. “I can put a shirt on, if you’d be more comfortable.”

“No, it’s fine.” They each inched their way to the cot.

“This is silly, Arya,” he chuckled, hands resting on his hips.

She laughed, too. “It is. Why are we being so weird?”

“Look, I’m going to turn out the light and you get into bed. Maybe that’ll help.” She nodded and a second later, the room was dark except for the light from the street below coming in through the window. She laid down on her side, like she always had and waited for him. Soon, Gendry was beside her in the tiny bed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. His body close to her had been a comfort during there time on the road and she was pleased to know that it still was.

She fell asleep quickly, feeling safe for the first time since she came home to Winterfell. Gendry, however, stayed awake for hours. He was entranced by the feel of her back to his bare chest, her breath pushing it against him. Arya had always talked in her sleep and her words were a comfort to him. It was nice to know that at least in her sleep she was still the same little girl he had protected for so long.


	4. Chapter 4

Arya continued to come to him at night. She was gone by the time he woke up but he could guarantee that she would be in his bed before midnight every night. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they didn’t. But she was always curled up against him, her soft murmurs lulling him to sleep. 

Three weeks after that first night, he slipped the pocket watch into her coat pocket while she was brushing her teeth. He knew she wouldn’t accept it if he just gave it to her. She came out of bathroom, hair tousled and faced freshly scrubbed, took his hand and led him to his caught. Normally, they fell asleep with her back to his front but tonight she curled up in the nook under his arm and entwined her fingers with his.

“Sansa asked me where I go every night.” She stated it matter-of-factly.

“What did you tell her?” His other hand rubbed her back through his old t-shirt.

“To mind her own business.” She sighed against his chest. “I don’t like telling her my secrets. She doesn’t react well to anything. When I told her about my time in Braavos, she wouldn’t speak to me for a week. Not that I missed it. I love her, but she prattles on like an old septa.”  
They both chuckled and held each other closer.

“I got the money to open my own forge.” She raised herself to her elbow to look at his face.

“How?”

“I saved. And I inherited a bit from my old master. It’s a few blocks from the Keep and it’s an old forge that just needs a bit of work.”

“What about Mike?” Gendry frowned at the mention of his current employer.

“I’m going to work there for a few more weeks at least until he finds a replacement. I told him today. He wasn’t happy but he understood that I’m not tinker, I’m a smith. And Winterfell needs a good smith.”

Arya snuggled against him, pulling the blankets up further. “The war is over, though.”

“Yes, but there is still armor to repair, swords to make, horses to shoe. And peace can’t last forever.”

“Don’t say that. I’ve had enough fighting for one lifetime.”

“Arya, I mean this in the best way possible, but you will never be done fighting.”

She smirked at that. It was true. “Well, I—”

Suddenly, someone pounded on the other side of Gendry’s door. “Open the door, in the name of Lord Snow!” 

Gendry shot out of bed and pulled a shirt from the floor on. Arya scrambled into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Gendry waited for the door to click shut before dealing with whoever was in the hallway.

Lord Jon Snow and three members of his guard stood in his doorway. His neighbors were all peeking out their own doors to see what was going on.

“Lord Snow, won’t you please come in?” He ushered the Lord inside, stopping the guardsmen, “Excuse me, gentlemen, but this is very small apartment for all five of us to be comfortable.”

He shut the door and watched as Jon surveyed the apartment, eyeing the pile of dirty clothes, the dishes in the sink and finally landing on Arya’s coat on the chair. He groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration. “Arya, get out here!”

The bathroom door creaked open and Arya came into the room.  
“I knew you were sneaking out at night but I thought you were riding or in the crypt. But you’ve been coming here?” Arya tried to interrupted but Jon raised his hand to silence her. “Gods, Arya, do you know how lucky no one has seen you come here? Everyone already assumes that he fucked you years ago and this just confirms it!”

Arya launched herself at her brother and tackled him to the ground. Her hand wrapped around his throat and she slowly began applying pressure.

“Don’t ever speak to me like that again.” Her voiced dropped to barely a whisper but it was laced with danger. “You know nothing, Jon, and the fact that you are my favorite brother will not stop me from killing you.” She released his neck but did not move. “I have been coming here to sleep. Nothing more. I leave at five in the damn morning just so no one will see me. And if they did, I don’t care. I only left that early to protect your and Sansa’s precious morals. You two really are more alike than either of you realizse. And Gendry—” she glanced up at the other man who was watching, dumbfounded, “is more of a gentleman than all the men on your guard combined. He has done nothing more than make me feel safe which is more than you have done since I came home.”

“Arya—” Gendry started.

“Shut it, Gendry.” She turned back to her brother. “Do you know that Gendry knew the entire time that I was a girl and kept it a secret until we got to Harrenhal ? Or that the only reason I didn’t freeze to death on the road there was because he let me sleep beside him? Jon, I am alive because of Gendry Waters and you dare come into his home and accuse me of fucking him? Because is that really the worst thing you can think of happening? I am sixteen years old, Jon. I have killed more men than you can imagine. But the thought of me fucking my friend is the subject of gossip and ridicule even in my own family.” She climbed off her brother and pulled him to his feet. “You need to leave. I will talk to you tomorrow and you can say whatever you want. But tonight, you are going home, I am getting back into bed with Gendry and sleeping until I wake up at a decent hour and will come home when he goes to work.”

She opened the door, shoved her brother into the arms of his guard and slammed it shut. Arya rested her head against the door, taking deep breaths to calm her heart.

“Are you alright?” Gendry asked, lightly touching her back. It wasn’t until then that he realized she was shaking. Without a second thought, he pulled her into his arms and held her. A moment later, Arya burst into tears. She clung to his shirt as he picked her up and placed her on the bed. He slid next to her and held her until her sobs changed into hiccups. They laid facing each other, her face pressed to his chest

“Gendry?” Her voice was ragged from her cries.

“Yeah?”

“I never thanked you for keeping me safe all that time. For still keeping me safe.”

“You don’t have to—”

“No, I do. You put yourself in danger to protect me and I want to thank you.” She tilted her head up and lightly pressed her lips to his.

Gendry had to fight everything within him to not deepen the kiss. He kissed her back, but he knew that kissing her the way he wanted to was a bad idea right now. All he could do was hope that this was just the first kiss of many.


	5. Chapter 5

Their pattern continued the same for the next month until Gendry officially quit working at the shop and began restoring the forge to its former glory. The sacking of Winterfell during the war had not escaped the forge. A new roof was an absolute necessity, as was rebuilding the hearth. He hired builders to fix the roof but the hearth was something he insisted on doing himself. Days were spent replacing support beams, re-mortaring stones in the walls, purchasing and repairing the tools he would be using. Nights were spent collapsed beneath Arya’s warm body. He was exhausted, but happier than he had been since his mother had died.

One morning, just after he had arrived at the forge, Arya walked in and plopped herself down on what was completed of the hearth. Gendry had built a fire in it big enough to warm the forge.

“What are you doing here, Arya? Don’t you have duties to your brother?” Gendry was rolling a sealant on smooth cement floor.

“I have officially been put on leave until further notice.” She pulled an apple out of her pack and took a large bite.

“What’d you do this time?” He dipped the roller in the sealant and continued his work.

“Why does everyone always think I did something? Sometimes I am the victim!” Gendry stopped and looked at her an exasperated. “Well, I said sometimes.”

“Arya,” he warned.

She rolled her eyes and took another bite of the apple. “Apparently, it is considered bad form for the captain of the Lord’s guard to argue with said Lord at breakfast over the last strip of bacon.”

“And?”

“And to also use a dagger to startle him so you can steal the bacon.” He dropped the roller and stared at her. Her eyes remained fixed on the ceiling.

“You stabbed your brother?” he asked incredulously.

Arya scoffed at him. “Of course not. I just made sure that it was as close as possible to his hand when I stabbed the table.”

“Gods, Arya! You’re lucky he didn’t throw you in the dungeons!” Gendry picked up the roller to continue his work. She really was still the obnoxious little girl he had known years before. “Jon Snow is the Lord of Winterfell first and foremost. You need to act like the captain of his guard if you expect to keep the position and not that he just gave it to you because you’re his sister. Show him and everyone that you earned it. I know what you’re capable of but most of these people think you’ve been hiding in a ditch for the last four years.”

“I don’t care what they think,” she said icily.

“That’s obvious. But you care what your brother thinks. And how do you think it looks to the people of Winterfell of the captain of Lord Snow’s guard thinks it is funny to almost stab him over bacon or rides his horse in a thunderstorm because she didn’t want her own to get wet. What is going on with you?”

Arya tossed her apple core over her shoulder into the hearth. “It’s just… I had to grow up fast, Gendry, an—”

“We all had to do that, Arya.”

“But I had to disappear. I’m not trying to make excuses, but I had to try to forget that Arya Stark had ever existed to protect myself.”

“So?”

“So, I’m sorry if maybe I don’t want to be the captain of Jon’s right now. That maybe I want to be able to do nothing for a little while. Or do something that I’ve never done before. Or ride my father’s horse down the street at night in the rain. Maybe I want to just lay on your cot with you and have no responsibilities for the first time in years.” Arya pulled her knees up to her chest and tugged the big sweater she was wearing around her. It wasn’t until then that Gendry noticed it was his.

They were silent for a good while. Gendry finished the floor, winding up at the backdoor of the forge.

“Did you tell Lord Snow all this?” he finally asked.

“I gave him the short version. He understood. That’s why I’m on leave.”

Gendry bent down and tested the floor with his finger tips. “Come here, stay on your toes, but come here. I want to show you something.”

Arya carefully made her way to him. He took her hand and led her outside.

There behind the forge stood a small stone house made out of the same grey stones as the forge. It had a dark blue door and shutters. The chimney rose out of the middle of the slate roof.

“What is this?” Arya asked. Her hand slipped from Gendry’s and she walked slowly towards it.

“It’s a house, Arya.” He wanted to roll his eyes at her but he couldn’t.

She tentatively reached for the doorknob and turned. It was empty inside, but completely restored. It consisted of one main room on the first floor and a pair of lofts on either side of the chimney. The ladders to the lofts were the only wood in the room, even the floor was stone.

“I just figured that I can’t live over the pub forever and with the forge being almost done, it made sense to start living here.” He shoved his hands in his pockets as she inspected the tiny house. “It’s not done! I still have to build the kitchen and there’s stuff I have to buy for—”

“It’s lovely, Gendry.” She came to stand in front of him and rested her hands on his shoulders. “It’s really lovely. But what does this mean? Are you expecting me to play house with you?”

Gendry pushed her hands off. “‘Playing house?’ No, Arya, I don’t expect that of you. I just wanted to show you where I would be living now since you basically live with me already.” He stormed out and crossed the yard to the forge.

“Gendry, wait!” Arya raced after him.

He stopped to turn to her. “I have waited, Arya! I met you when you were still a child so I waited. Then you disappeared and everyone thought you were dead, but I didn’t so I waited again. And now you’re back and I’m at your every beck and call but I’m still waiting.”

“Gendry, don’t do this—” She shivered from the cold and his icy glare.

“Don’t do what? Tell you how I actually feel?” He came close to her. “Do you have any idea how I feel for you? How I’ve always felt? I’m not stupid, Arya. I don’t expect anything more from you than what you have already given.” Arya tried to look down at her feet but Gendry caught her chin and raised it to meet her eyes. “But I’m not going to lie to you either. I want more than that. Do I want to marry you one day and have children with you? Yes, if you want to. Do I want to do more than sleep beside you like a security blanket? Again, yes. More than all that, I wish you wanted more from me too.”

He dropped his hand from her face and headed to the forge.

“You stupid, bull-headed boy!” he heard her shout before she knocked him to the ground. He twisted onto his back and tried to grip her hands to keep her from hitting him but Arya was still too quick. As soon as she landed one good punch, he gripped her hips and flipped so she was beneath him. He tried again to grab her hands but Arya had wrapped her legs around him and used her body weight to shove him backwards. He landed with a grunt and tried to catch his breath.

Gendry wasn’t sure when it happened but at some point Arya had stopped hitting him and began kissing him. His hands fell to her waist, pulling her closer. Arya fisted his shirt in one hand and his hair in the other. When she finally broke away for air, she punched him one last time in the gut.

“Damnit, Arya!” he groaned. She smirked at him from above and he couldn’t help but laugh at her. “We really are a pair, aren’t we?”

“That’s one way to put it,” she said as she lowered her face to kiss him again.


End file.
